Haskins' 'Glory Road' trip will shine forever

EL PASO -- Thunder rolled in over the city Sunday night, loud booms announcing its arrival. Soon the skies opened and rivers ran down Mesa Street on the night El Paso lost its own force of nature.

Don Haskins, The Bear, passed away late Sunday afternoon at age 78 but his legacy -- in the form of both stories and actual events -- will live on. Late in his life, years after he had been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and years after he had been praised by almost every notable coach, Haskins received a double tribute.

First came "Glory Road" the book, then came "Glory Road" the motion picture.

Haskins enjoyed it all. Oh, he occasionally fussed and groused about this or that. But he loved it, loved seeing it all come to life again and loved even more seeing all his old players on a regular basis.

Producer Jerry Bruckheimer wanted Haskins to do a cameo role in the movie, said it just had to be done. Haskins, unassuming as always, would have no part of it. Finally, Bruckheimer went to the last resort. He begged. Haskins, under that ever-gruff exterior, was far too soft-hearted to say no. So he griped a little more and did it.

The little scene, Haskins in coveralls, bellowing "You want to fill 'er up?" simply jumped off the screen to El Pasoans and to his friends around the country. It was priceless. But it was not easy.

"They had me do a jillion takes on that," Haskins said afterward.

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"Finally, after the 16th take, I just said, that's it. That's the best I've got. I'm done."

Haskins stalked off and the film editors were left to take their best effort. They chose well.

Later, when he received a nice check in the mail for his appearance, Haskins asked Bruckheimer, "You got any more lines I can say?"

That was vintage Don Haskins -- strong and fierce and gruff, and unassuming and humble, and, more than anything, funny.

On Monday, Bruckheimer's office was calling, wanting to know where to send a tribute to the man. Sunday, Josh Lucas, the actor who portrayed Haskins, sent an e-mail saying it was "nothing but a total blessing to have been involved for a tiny slice." The movie, as movies do, will live forever. People will continuallybe introduced and re-introduced to the genius of Haskins, to his strength of character, to his 1966 NCAA men's championship basketball team.

Dan Wetzel wrote a wonderful book about Haskins, doubling the pleasure for posterity. In a tribute to Haskins on Yahoo.com on Monday, Wetzel wrote, "The guy was a walking Merle Haggard song."

Wetzel, like so many friends and so many former players, is on his way to El Paso to pay final respects to this giant of a man, this John Wayne of the coaching world.

In a telephone interview, he talked about the man he wrote a book about and the man who became a special friend.

"I loved him from the start as a reporter," Wetzel said. "I had an interview set up and I was expecting about an hour. Four hours later we finished. Everybody knows what he did in 1966. Just because Coach Haskins never got back to the Final Fourdoesn't mean he did not continue to do things the same way throughout his career. Courage and conviction are not one-time things. The dignity he showed so many people is special.

"You know, we all think we are never going to be able to have an impact on society the way he did," Wetzel added. "But all of us can notice a waitress struggling a little bit and leave her a big tip. Coach would see someone struggling, someone extra tired, and leave a $20 tip for a cup of coffee. Very few of us can do things that can impact the world. But when you do the little things every day, the big things come easy. That was Coach."

Wetzel said writing the book was a special experience, a moment in time that forged something new in his life.

"It was an unbelievable experience, spending all that time with Coach," Wetzel said. "I remember telling my publishers that most of the interviews were done in a GMC truck with a bottle of tequila riding shotgun. They laughed and said that was a funny story. I told them that that was no story, that's what happened."

Haskins was the most competitive man you would ever meet. He was also a restless soul. He loved to ride in his pickup, cruising the outskirts of the city at around 15-20 miles per hour.

Laughing, Wetzel said, "If Don Haskins were with the Border Patrol, no one would ever get in illegally. He knew every piece of sand in the high desert."

Pausing, Wetzel added, "He just had this greatness about him."

To most, including Wetzel, Haskins was a modern-day John Wayne -- standing strong, doing the right thing and not really worrying what anyone else thought about it.

That is the way he coached and that is the way he lived and that is why he started those five talented young black men against Kentucky that March night nearly 43 years ago in Maryland.

In his final days, Haskins was very ill and very uncomfortable. He had a little television next to his bed and it flickered 24 hours, black and white Westerns rolling across the screen.

He was a real cowboy.

Nevil Shed, one of the Glory Road Gang, a member of that 1966 team, said, "You talk about Glory Road. Coach Haskins is now at Glory Road."